USPTO Patents Application 10718172

PATENT SPECIFICATION <n) 1 525 656

AO

to

(21) Application No. 46623/76 (22) Filed 9 Nov. 1976
(44) Complete Specification Published 20 Sep. 1978

(51) INT CU F24D 13/02

A01K 41/00

(52) Index at Acceptance

F4U 70
AIM 91

F4V A1A B1F B3D

(54) INCUBATORS FOR NURSING CHICKS

(71) We, WAY-CHAW CHENG,
HSIEN- YOUNG YOU and CHING-CHI
LIU, are citizens of Taiwan, residing at
respectively No. 1, Shui-Ta Erh Lane,
5 Chung-Shan Li, Chu-Shan Chien, Nan-Tou
Hsien, Taiwan; No. 185, Fu-Hsing Ts'un,
Chi-An Hsiang Hua-Lien Hsien, Taiwan,
and No. 374, Chung-Cheng Road, Hua-
Lien, Taiwan, do hereby declare the inven-
10 tion, for which we pray that a patent may be
granted to us, and the method by which it is
to be performed, to be particularly
described in and by the following state-
ment:-

15 This invention relates to an incubator
used in growing poultry.

As well known in the art of poultry,
brooding chicks is one of the most difficult
stages in growing chickens. In particular, the

20 first 300 hours of a chick's life are by far the
most important. This is the time when the
grower makes or breaks his flock. There-
fore, the grower normally tries his best to
take special care during brooding to insure

25 that the chickens are started properly. For
instance, chicks are started at a temperature
of about 32.2 degrees to 35 degrees C, the
temperature should then be reduced by 2.8
degrees each week until reaching room

30 temperature, and the chicks are carefully
watched for signs of temperature, humidity,
feed, water or disease problems, etc. Par-
ticularly, for the purpose of a well-
controlled temperature condition, the prior

35 art has suggested a brooder equipment cap-
able of artificial heating.

One of the conventional equipments is of
a type including a plurality of metallic con-
duits in which heated water or hot spring

40 water is circulated for heating the bedding

material from underneath. However, the
equipment of this type has never become
popularly available because of certain dis-
advantages per se, such as, the equipment
entails great expense for installation and 45
heat supply, the equipment is limited to a
particular place where heated water is
obtainable, and the metallic conduits of the
equipment will be readily blocked by
impurities in the water and require frequent 50
maintenance. Another type of the conven-
tional equipment is implemented by apply-
ing on the ground surface a plurality of
aluminium tubes containing electric heating
elements and covering the aluminium tubes 55
with earth and sand or other bedding ma-
terials for chick's litter, such that the heat
produced by the electric heating elements
will emanate from the bottom and maintain
a desired ambient temperature. Although 60
this type of construction has obviated the
disadvantages resulted from using hot water
as heat source, it still cannot be put into
practical use due to the laborious replace-
ment work of the applied earth and sand 65
after a period of use, great power consump-
tion and low efficiency.

Still another type of the conventional
equipment, which is a preferable one
heretofore used, includes an umbrella-like 70
rigid hood made of metal. Inside the
umbrella-like hood and adjacent to the
center of the top fo the hood, a gas burner or
electric heater means is mounted, and the
hood is hung or otherwise supported in the 75
middle of the chicken house about 60 cm
from the bedding material, such that, when
in use. the heat produced by the gas burner
or electric heater means is reflected by the
inner face of the hood and directed downard go

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1,525,656

2

onto the bedding material to render warm-
ing from above, for the chicks beneath the
hood.

Nevertheless, the last mentioned brooder

5 equipment has also encountered various
disadvantages. For example, the conven-
tional umbrella-like hood is made of opaque
material, i.e. metal, and thus will shield the
chicks therebeneath from the sight of the

10 grower. The grower has to crouch his body
and lift the hood if he wants to observe the
actions of the chicks beneath the hood.
Accordingly, it is possible that the grower
may be unaware or an accident and that one

15 chick has been dead under the hood for a
long time due to oxygen starvation. The
hood including a gas burner, and gas con-
tainer make the whole equipment weighty
and inconvenient to move or to install, and

20 ths rigid hood having a relatively large
diameter takes up too much space and thus
is difficult to store when not in use/
Moreover, the heat reflected from the hood
is not uniformly distributed in the space

25 beneath the hood and results in inconfor-
mity of temperature of the bed. In consider-
ation of a chick's physiological require-
ments, since the heat is provided from the
top, the abdomen side of the chick sleeping

30 on the bed will be cooler than the back side,
this condition tends to give rise to chicken
disease problems such as dysentry. There-
fore, such conventional brooder equipment
actually produces a temperature condition

35 not very suitable for the physiological
requirements of a chick, and in general, by
means of such brooder equipment the flock
of chicks will not grow up in a healthy man-
ner. Moreover, when in use, the periphery

40 of the hood is spaced from the bed at least
about 25 - 30 cm, a great portion of the heat
reflected from the hood will be laterally
directed at the periphery of the hood via the
gap between the hood and the bedding ma-

45 terial, and not reach the bed. Thus, such a
brooder equipment presents low efficiency
and entail great expense.

It is therefore an object of this invention
to provide an incubator for nursing baby
50 chicks, which mitigate the various disadvan-
tages and inconvenience encountered with
the conventional equipment and may oper-
ate in an optimum condition.
According to the present invention there
55 is provided an incubator for nursing chicks
comprising in combination: an electrical
heater formed of a flexible material and con-
taining an electric heating element; a hood
including a collapsible frame and an entirely
60 transparent, flexible canopy attached to the
frame for covering the electric heater to
define a space therein capable of retaining
heat emitted from the heater, in use; and a
thermostat disposed in the space between
65 the heater and the hood to control auto-

matically the supply of electric current to the
heater so as to maintain the space at a pre-
determined temperature for the chicks;
wherein, the collapsible frame includes a
plurality of dome ribes, each rib having one 70
end pivotably connected to a ring-shaped
crown in circumferentially spaced relation, a
tubular member adapted to extend through
the center of the ring-shaped crown, a
stretcher member for each rib, each 75
stretcher member having one end pivotably
connected to the tubular member and one
end pivotably connected to its respective rib
in such a manner that the tubular member is
substantially aligned with the axis of the 80
ring-shaped crown so that the frame is
opened to support the canopy in a dome-
like shape when the tubular member is
moved along the axis of the ring-shaped
crown to a position in which the upper end 85
of the tubular member extends through the
ring-shaped crown, and the frame is closed
to collapse the canopy when the tubular
member is removed from the ring-shaped
crown. 90

In one preferred embodiment the
incubator comprises the electric heater
including a bottom layer of heat resistant
and electrically insulating material, a top
layer of heat resistant and electrically 95
insulating material and a set of electric heat-
ing elements applied and sandwiched be-
tween the top and bottom layers, and a col-
lapsible hood including a canopy of transpa-
tent material and a frame, similar in struc- 100
ture to that of an umbrella frame, for sup-
porting the canopy. When in use, the trans-
parent hood is opened and supported in a
manner that the hood covers the heater
while the skirt of its canopy is spaced from 105
the heater with a gap for chick's entrance,
the electric heating elements of the heater
are energised and thermostatically control-
led to maintain the spece defined between
the transparent hood and the heater at a 110
desired ambient temperature for chicks.

Preferably means for ventilation are pro-
vided on the top center of the hood, and an
electric lamp is mounted on the frame inside
the hood to act as an inducement to make 115
the chicks get into a habit of entering the
hood for warming their bodies. Moreover,
the gap existing between the skirt periphery
of the canopy and the heater, which serves
as an entrance for the chicks, is normally 120
covered with flaps depending from the skirt
of the canogy. The flap is preferably of the
same material as the canopy, and can be
flexibly deflected by the chicks entering or
leaving the hood. With such arrangement, 125
the canopy in combination with the flaps
thus successfully effects excellent heat reten-
tion.

In accordance with the invention the elec-
tric heater is covered with a collapsible hood 130

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1,525,656

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having flaps suspended from its periphery
which present minimum loss of heat, high
efficiency and low cost; the uniform heating
from the bottom of the incubator and good
5 ventilation result in an ambient temperature
which meets the physiological requirements
of the chicks and enables the chicks to pack
on the heater uniformly and comfortably;
the transparency of the collapsible hood

10 enables the grower to watch, in any direc-
tion from outside the apparatus, the actions
of the chicks, and thus facilitates the
grower's supervision. The provision of an
inducement lamp inside the hood serves to

15 lead, free from the grower's intervention,
the chicks to go to the heater for taking
warmth, and causes the chicks to get into the
habit of entering the hood for warming.
Advantageously, the light weight of the

20 incubator and the fact that when not in use
the hood can be collapsed and wrapped up
in the flexible electric heater so as to form a
small package contribute to the convenience
and ease of handling such as movement,

25 installation and store.

An embodiment of the present invention
will now be described, by way of example,
with referece to the accompanying drawings,
in which:

30 Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embod-
iment of the transparent umbrella-like
bottom-heating type incubator for nursing
chicks according to this invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an electric

35 heater included in the apparatus of Fig. 1,
with the top layer thereof partially cut away
to show the electric heater elements dis-
posed therein;
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a thermostat

40 used in the apparatus of Fig. 1 for adjusting
and maintaining a predetermined ambient
temperature for chicks; and

Fig. 4 is an electric circuit diagrammati-
cally showing the connection and interrela-

45 tion between the heating elements of the
heater and the thermostat.

Reference is now made to the drawings
for a better understanding of this invention,
wherein similar reference characters desig-

50 nate corresponding parts throughout the
several views. As is evident in Fig. 1, an
incubator according to this invention, gen-
erally designate by numeral 1, comprises a
collapsible hood 11 and a heater 12 which

55 forms the floor area of the incubator. The
collapsible hood 11 includes an umbrella-
like frame covered with a transparent
canopy 117. As can be seen, the frame
includes dome ribs 111 hinged by means of a

60 tie wire (not shown) to a ring-shaped crown
112 as is well known. The frame includes a
runner 113 fixedly secured to a tubular
member 14 which is movable relative to the
crown 1 12 to erect or collapse the incubator.

65 To the runner 1 13 is connected a plurality of

stretcher members 114, one for each dome
rib 111. The stretcher member 114 extends
between the runner 113 and a clip 115
located on the rib 111. Each stretcher
' member 114 is pivotably connected to the 70
. runner 113 by tie wires (not shown) as is
well known, and to the clip 115 by pivot pin
119. The frame may be opened to assume an
umbrella shape by pushing the tubular
member 14 upward to a position in which 75
the upper end of the tubular member 14
extends through the center of the ring-
shaped crown 112 and is maintained in this
position by a releasable latch member 141.
Supporting members 116 are provided at 80
the other end of alternate ones of the dome
ribs 111. The supporting member 116 is
connected, at one end, to the dome rib 111,
but can be folded inward by pivotal move-
ment about the joint therewith. When the 85
frame is opened, the supporting members
116 are arranged to stand on the ground so
as to support the frame as well as the canopy
117, on the top of the heater 12 as shown.
The canopy 117 is made of a piece of trans- 90
parent material, and when the hood 1 1 cov-
ers the heater 12, the periphery of the
canopy 117 is spaced from the heater by a
gap which serves as an entrance for the
incubator. The gap is normally closed by a 95
flap 118 depending from the periphery of
the canopy 117. The flap 118 is preferably
made of the same material as the canopy
and can be flexibly deflected inwardly or
outwardly by chicks entering or leaving the 100
hood.

A plurality of openings 142 are provided
extending through the wall of the tubular
member 14. The openings 142 contribute to
improve ventilation of the incubator 1. At 105
the lower end of the tubular member 14,
there is provided an electric lamp 13 which
can be connected to a power supply through
an electric cord 131 and a plug 132. The
lamp 13, when energised, serves as an 110
inducement to make the chicks get into a
habit of entering the incubator for warming
their bodies.

The electric heater 12 is electrically con-
nected to a power supply through a thermos- 1 15
tat 15, an electric cord 151 and a plug 152.
While being energised, the heater 12 sup-
plies heat from bottom of the incubator,
which is warmed up and the thermostat 15
on the heater 12 serves to control the on-off 120
of electric current so as to maintain a pre-
determined temperature in a manner as will
be hereinafter more fully apparent.

Now turning to Fig. 2, the electric heater
12 is shown in perspective view with part cut 125
away for illustration. The heater 12 includes
a bottom layer 121 of heat resistant and
electrically insulating material, a top layer
122 of heat resistant and electrically insulat-
ing material, and heating elements 123 such 130

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as nickel-chrome wire heaters sandwiched
between these two layers. The top layer 122
and the bottom layer 121 are glued together
by any means known to thos skilled m the
5 art. The heater elements 123 may include
six nickel chrome wires of 0.40 mm in diam-
eter parallelly connected and distributed in a
plane between the top and bottom layer in a
manner such that, when in use the tempera-

10 ture will be substantially uniform over the
entire surface of the bed. The heater ele-
ments 123 are electrically connected to the
thermostat 15 through electric cord 124 in
order that the current supplied to the heater

15 will be controlled during operation by the
thermostat.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the thermostat
15. The thermostat 15 includes a housing
153, an indicating lamp 154 mounted on the

20 housing, and an insulating support plate 1 55
mounted inside the housing. On the insulat-
ing plate 155, there are provided a pair of
electrically conductive contacts 156 and
157. Heat sensing means 158 are attached

25 to the contact 157, and an adjusting screw
159 having a knob 160 extends through a
hole 161 of the housing and a threaded
opening of the insulating plate 155 such that
the end of the screw 159 is directed toward

30 the heat sensing means 1 58 and thus the dis-
tance from the end of the screw 159 to the
heat sensing means 158 may be adjusted by
turning the knob 160. The heat sensing
means 158, when being subjected to heat,

35 will expand. Contacts 156 and 157 are nor-
mally held in contact with each other to
complete a circuit, however, when the heat
sensing means 158 develop sufficient expan-
sion to come into contact withe the end of

40 the screw 1 59, the contact 1 57 will be biased
to a position in which contacts 156 and 157
are separated so as to turn off the electric
circuit. A socket 164 is mounted on the
housing and electrically connected for plug-

45 type connection with the heater elements of
the heating bed 12. The lamp 154 is con-
nected for indicatinv the on-off of the cir-
cuit, i.e. the lamp 154 lights up as the circuit
is on while extinguished when the circuit is

50 off. Fig. 4 diagrammaticaliy illustrates the
electrical connection of the plug 152, ther-
mostat 15, indicating lamp 154 and heating
elements 123 included in the apparatus of
Fig. 1. With such arrangement, the tempera-

55 ture in the apparatus may be maintained at a
predetermined level. The function of the
thermostat 15 is to obtain an ambient temp-
erature that makes the chicks comfortable.
However, it is actually impossible to

50 recommend an exact thermostat setting for
each apparatus, watching the actions of the
chicks is a much better indication of comfort
than thermostatic setting. That is to say,
when the apparatus is in operation, after the

g5 chicks enter the apparatus, if they are

loosely packed on the heater, it means that
the thermostat is set properly. If the chicks
are not loosely packed, but tend to crowd on
the bed, the chicks are too cool and the heat
needs to be increased. If the chicks are in a 70
wide circle outside the apparatus, the ther-
mostat setting should be lowered to con-
serve power and make the chicks more com-
fortable. Such adjustment is achieved by
turning the knob 160 of the thermostat. 75
WHAT WE CLAIM IS:-

1. An incubator for nursing chicks com-
prising in combination: an electrical heater
formed of a flexible material and containing

an electrical heating element; a hood includ- °®
ing a collapsible frame and an entirely
transparent, flexible canopy attached to the
frame for covering the electric heater to
define a space therein capable of retaining
heat emitted from the heater, in use; and a 85
thermostat disposed in the space between
the heater and the hood to control auto-
matically the supply of electric current to the
heater so as to maintain the space at a pre-
determined temperature for the chicks; 90
wherein, the collapsible frame includes a
plurality of dome ribes, each rib having one
end pivotably connected to a ring-shaped
crown in circumferentially spaced relation, a
tubular member adapted to extend through 95
the center of the ring-shaped crown, a
stretcher member for each rib, each
stretcher member having one end pivotably
connected to the tubular member and one
end pivotably connected to its respective rib 10
in such a manner that the tubular member is
substantially aligned with the axis of the
ring-shaped crown so that the frame is
opened to support the canopy in a dome-
like shape when the tubular member is 10
moved along the axis of the ring-shaped
crown to a position in which the upper end
of the tubular member extends through the
ring-shaped crown, and the frame is closed
to collapse the canopy when the tubular 11
member is removed from the ring-shaped
crown.

2. An incubator as claimed in Claim 1,
wherein the electrical heater comprises heat
resistant and electrically insulating material. 11

3. An incubator as claimed in Claim 1 or
2, wherein the tubular member is provided
with means for ventilation.

4. An incubator as claimed in Claim 1, 2

or 3, wherein the hood further includes sup- 12
port member each having one end con-
nected to the outer end of the dome rib and
one end grounded, such that, when in use,
the lower periphery of the canopy is spaced
from the heater by a gap which serves as an 12
entry to the incubator, and flaps, depending
from the periphery of the canopy to substan-
tially shield the entrance, are readily
deflected inwardly or outwardly of the
incubator by the chicks. 13

1,525,656

5. An incubator as claimed in Claim 2 drawings,
wherein the electrical heater contains at
least one electric heating element, and being
made flexible so that the heater, when not in
use, is collapsible into a compact size.

6. An incubator substantially as '
hereinbefore described with referencs to,
and as illustrated in, the accompanying

LANGNER PARRY
Chartered Patent Agents,
High Holborn House,
52-54 High Holborn,
London, WC1V 6RR
Agents for the Applicants

10

Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, by Croydon Printing Company Limited, Croydon, Surrey, 1978.
Published by The Patent Office, 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A 1 AY, from
which copies may be obtained.

1525656 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

o cucrrc This drawing Is a reproduction of
& oMttia the Q rlglnai on „ fet / uce< / sca i e

Sheet 1

1525656 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

2 SHEETS Th,s drawing Is a reproduction of
the Original on a reduced scale

Sheet 2